The self-activating entrance examination system – its hidden agenda and its correspondence with the Japanese “salary man”

Abstract

The entry examination for admission to high schools and universitiesin Japan is a crucial element in the screening process, especially in thecase of the more prestigious institutions. This paper examines whycompetitive entrance examinations are such an important feature of thesystem, analyses their impact on the development of social character andthen discusses to what extent this social character interacts with that ofthe typical Japanese white collar worker, the one perpetuating the other.Credentialism alone is not a sufficient explanation of the Japanesephenomenon since there is no overall shortage of places. The outstandingfeature of the system is that applicants aim at institutions one rank higherthan one they are confident of entering. This is illustrated with a study ofdata from high schools in the Kansai District. The whole process can bedescribed as one of successive contests in which, as in a tournament, theprize (admission to a leading university) goes only to those who win inevery round of the competition. This in turn leads to the prize ofemployment by a major company since mostly these recruit on the basis of theuniversity of origin rather than the particular specialisation. The paperconcludes by suggesting that the process described constitutes a hiddenagenda for the production of conformists unlikely to challenge the ethos ofthe institution or organisation. There are, however, signs that smallercompanies have become more important in recruitment as the major companieshave reduced their intakes. Smaller companies cannot afford lengthy in-housetraining and are becoming more concerned with applicants' competences thanwith their universities of origin.